Self-expanding stents for carotid interventions: comparison of nitinol versus stainless-steel stents.

Angioplasty and stenting are becoming increasingly accepted techniques for the treatment of carotid stenosis. However, the optimal stent for carotid intervention is not known.We compared the short- and intermediate-term results of carotid stenting using either nitinol or stainless-steel self-expanding stents in 178 high surgical risk patients undergoing carotid stenting at our institution. Of these 178 patients, eighty-nine received stainless-steel stents and 89 received nitinol stents. The groups were similar with respect to age, gender, diabetes, hypertension, left ventricular function, and symptom status. There were more patients with contralateral carotid occlusion in the nitinol stent group. Independent neurological evaluation was performed in all patients pre- and post-carotid stenting.At 6 months, there was a similar incidence of stroke (3.3% versus 2.2%) in the stainless-steel group and nitinol stent group, respectively. There was higher 6-month mortality noted in the stainless-steel stent group, but there were no neurological deaths in either group.In a single-center patient cohort with similar baseline characteristics, patients receiving nitinol stents and stainless-steel stents had similar neurological outcomes.